Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Just a few days ago we told you how Google was thinking about buying
Yelp for around $500 million. Well unfortunately for those of you that
love happy endings, this love story is already doomed. While Google
wants Yelp, Yelp seems not to want Google.On the other hand it s still a
happy ending story as Yelp lives to fight another day in the local
search business. The giant search company will surely not appreciate
the fact that a small fish like Yelp dares to stand tall before Google.
But what happened you ask? Should we suspect that another large fish,
say Microsoft for example, is interested in acquiring Yelp? Did Redmond
come up with a better, sweeter deal than Google s? Or is Yelp simply
thinking about making it on its own in the local search business?
Nothing is official yet so we have no idea whether Yelp will be
purchased by Google or not. Google is probably going to be pretty
annoyed to see the deal slipping through its fingers. For $550 million
Google was getting not only all Yelp s customers but also a social
network which is an impressive asset for any business nowadays.
Yelp s uniqueness derives not from the dependable search engine that s
ready to find you any restaurant or coffee shop in your area but from
the fact that thousands of people contribute to the Yelp universe. Not
only does Yelp offer you accurate information on various local
businesses but you also get to read reviews written by regular Joes like
you and me that simply want to give something back to the Yelp community.
Now think for a second that Google gets Yelp. It will be able to
transform it into a Google service that would work fantastic with Google
Maps, and other apps for that matter. And the best thing is that the
social network would still be there as Yelp would be available to anyone
with a Google account. And it would be accessible instantly from both
Android phones and computers around the world.
So, Yelp, why aren t you happy with $550 million?